Team 7, coupled with their new client, the bridge-builder Tazuna, were standing just in front of the gates of Konoha, ready to set out on their mission.

Team 7 had been tasked with escorting the old man to Nami no Kuni. Nami no Kuni was a small island nation, located near the Hi no Kuni. The small nation had no Hidden Village of their own, which is why the Tazuna sought assistance from Konohagakure no Sato. The island depends on shipping for import and export, which is where Tazuna comes in. As a bridge-builder, it was his job to connect the island nation with the main land.

This mission was only C-ranked however, which meant no combat with other ninjas. Team 7 were meant to guard Tazuna against things like common thugs and wild animals. But nevertheless, the young Genins were excited. It was their first mission outside of Konoha. With their gear packed, the group was ready to start their journey towards Nami no Kuni.

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About an hour had passed since they left Konoha, and the group had fallen into a sort of formation. Sakura trailed just behind Kakashi, who was leading the group. Tazuna was following her, with Naruto a bit behind on his left and Sasuke a bit behind on his right.

Kakashi mentally nodded in approval. They were taking the guarding and escorting seriously, and their client looked more comfortable. 'Don't judge a book by their cover,' Kakashi chuckled, as he was sure that's what the old man was thinking.

Naruto was thrilled, to say the least. It was her first time outside the village, and to boot she was on a C-rank escort mission! Their client could have been a bit more interesting, but Naruto didn't mind that much. She had begged and begged the old Hokage to let her outside of the village, but he would never allow her to leave.

But nothing could ruin her mood today. She glanced over at Sakura and her sensei. They were walking forward casually, and they both seemed to be relaxed. Tazuna was walking with tense steps, and it seemed like he was worrying over something. Naruto shrugged, and decided to let the old man be.

She looked over at Sasuke, who seemed to be in a foul mood as usual. 'Why is he always frowning and looking like he's got a stick up his ass?' she chuckled at the thought. This caught Sasuke's attention, and he turned his head towards her. They entered a glaring contest, which ended with Naruto frowning and sticking out her tongue, before both of them returning to their original positions.

Kakashi had gone slightly ahead of the rest of the group, to scout for possible dangers. As he was checking the area, he noticed a puddle. Hi no Kuni was currently in the dry season, which meant little to no rain. Puddles would not form naturally. To any experienced ninja, this was an obvious trap, and Kakashi wasn't a Jōnin for nothing. For a second he considered taking on the potential enemy by himself, but decided against it. He was going to let his students show what they are made of, and engage the enemy only if necessary.

As the rest of the group caught up to Kakashi, they saw him standing still. The Jōnin had deliberately turned his back to the puddle, and motioned for his team to pay attention to him. They walked towards him, but the group were suddenly frozen in fear. Two unknown beings had emerged from the puddle ahead, and had wrapped some kind of chain around their sensei. Before anyone could react, the silver-haired shinobi was torn into pieces.

"That's one."

Sakura screamed. Tazuna was stunned. Naruto's eyes were lifeless as she watched the gruesome scene play out in front of her. The enemies started advancing on them, and Naruto shook her head, forcing herself to pull out a kunai. She had to do something. She watched as the enemy duo unhooked their chain, right in the middle, which allowed them to fight one-on-one battles more easily. Naruto and Sasuke shared a look, nodded and moved to stand in front of Sakura and Tazuna. The blonde shouted at Sakura to stay back and protect Tazuna. The young kunoichi was still in shock, but managed to pull out a kunai and prepared for an eventual third enemy.

Naruto was… terrified, as she watched the enemy shinobi close in on her. She had no idea how this fight would end, and her confidence started to waver. Sure, she bragged about being strong, and that she could beat anyone, but being put on the test like this, against experienced enemy ninja, left her feeling weak.

She tried to move, but her body would not obey her. It wasn't until she heard Sasuke's voice calling out to her, telling her to move it. She was able to avoid the enemy shinobi by a hair's length. One second to tale and she would have been struck by that vicious looking gauntletof his.

The blonde threw the kunai in hand mid-air, but it was quickly blocked by iron gauntlet. She pulled out another kunai, as did the enemy, and they re-engaged in close combat. Naruto managed to avoid getting hit by the gauntlet and kunai, thanks to her nimble body. She succeeded in getting a few hits of her own in on the enemy, but nothing major.

They continued exchanged blows for a little while, no one really getting the upper-hand. Her foe suddenly threw his kunai, so she responded by doing the same. A clink could be heard as the ninja weapons collided mid-air.

Naruto looked back at Sakura and Tazuna, and saw fear in their eyes, but Sakura still looked determined. Naruto knew that the girl would protect the old geezer. Naruto's resolve hardened, promising herself to not let anyone else or her team or their client get hurt. She formed her iconical hand-seal, a two-fingers cross, and molded her chakra.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two clones popped out of nowhere, and immediately engaged the enemy shinobi. She hoped that she would be able to overwhelm her foe with sheer numbers. The man, who was obviously more experienced than Naruto, pulled out his chain once more, which had retracted into his gauntlet after separating from is comrade. He began using the chain as a whip, forcing her to stay on her toes.

As soon as her clones tried getting into close-combat, they would either get forced back or get destroyed. She tried creating a few more clones, but the result was the same. But Naruto was not one to give up. She knew she had massive chakra reserves, and great stamina to boot. Sooner or later her foe wouldn't be able to keep up with her.

A loud yell suddenly startled Naruto and her opponent. 'Sasuke!' Naruto turned her head towards the other fight, hoping that Sasuke was alright. Her opponent had briefly stopped to take a look as well, feeling a bit worried about his brother. What they saw made Naruto almost jump. Sasuke was completely overpowering the other shinobi!

Naruto turned back towards her opponent once more, this time with new found vigor. She was not losing to Sasuke! The enemy shinobi momentarily glared back at Naruto before suddenly taking off towards Sasuke and his brother.

The blonde cursed herself for letting her enemy escape, but even more so since he was moving towards Sasuke. She knew she had to catch up to him, otherwise Sasuke would be caught up in a pincer attack, and these two obviously knew how to cooperate.

A few images flashed through her head, as she pictured Sasuke getting torn apart just like Kakashi. Something snapped inside of her. She could feel a huge amount of power surging from inside of her. It did not feel like her normal chakra, but she didn't care. She needed to get to Sasuke before the enemy did.

'Did the seal break?!' a hidden Jōnin instantly thought as he felt the menacing chakra erupting from Naruto. 'No, it's still intact, but that's definitely the Kyūbi's chakra. She is still in control… for now. I might need to intervene,' he put his right hand in one of his pouches, making sure to have a seal ready.

Sasuke, who was busy fighting the other enemy, could also feel the strange power coming from Naruto's fight. At first he thought it was from the enemy shinobi, so as soon as he got the chance to, he glanced over to their fight. What he saw stunned him. The strange chakra was emanating from Naruto! He didn't have time to worry about that now though, as he was in the middle of his own fight, and he could see that the other ninja was heading his way as well. He cursed under his breath, and did his best to bring down the opponent in front of him before the other one got to him.

Naruto, feeling more powerful than ever, immediately sprung after her foe. She felt stronger, and lighter, and somehow knew that she would be able to catch up to him before he could reach her teammate. She was able to successfully intercept the enemy shinobi, but not without injury. She overestimated herself when she lunged towards the enemy. He, just like the others, felt the chakra coming from Naruto, and turned around to face. He was able to graze her with his gauntlet, just under her shoulder on her left arm.

She fell to the ground, and rubbed her arm where the injury was. She was able to stop him from charging at Sasuke, and it gave the raven-haired Uchiha just enough time to finish off his opponent, and he was able to engage the remaining shinobi without hindrance.

For some reason Sasuke felt a hint of anger building up inside of him as he watched the blonde clutching her arm. He gritted his teeth, and felt a sudden pain in his right eye. He dove at the enemy, who was noticeably slower than the former foe. What Sasuke didn't realize was that he was in fact faster than before. He made quick work of the enemy, with the help of his new, still unknown to him, ability. The two enemies had been successfully knocked out.

But even though they had won in the end, Team 7 and Tazuna were all upset. Kakashi had been killed on their first mission outside the village. But soon enough they heard a familiar voice which pulled out of their sadness, and turned it into first confusion and later joy.

"Good job, everyone. I'm proud of you all."

It was Kakashi, who had somehow survived the stealth attack. Everyone was confused as they looked towards what they thought was Kakashi's body. Instead of finding a dismembered body, they found a log. Easiest trick in the book, 'Kawarimi no Jutsu.' Now that the group of Genin were able to think rationally, it was kind of obvious. There was no way Kakashi would be taken out by these chumps, even if they had the element of surprise.

"Sakura, great job protecting the client. You showed trust in your teammates' abilities, and were able to protect the client from potential additional harm." Sakura was looking bashful, happy at being praised, but at the same time she felt it was undeserving. She hadn't really done anything worthy of praise, according to herself.

"Sasuke, as always you showed a true display of skill. You were able to knock out both enemies, with the help of Naruto. You are truly a genius, and a real Uchiha to boot." Kakashi hinted that Sasuke had awoken his Sharingan, but only in his right eye so far. Sasuke just grunted, not taking the hint just yet, but was happy nonetheless, even if he didn't show it. But it wasn't the fact that he was praised that made him happy; it was the fact that he had gotten stronger. It was a step towards Itachi.

"And you Naruto," he looked over at the girl, who was sitting on the ground and clutching her arm still, "we need to take a look at that wound," Naruto was a bit disappointed in herself. She had done nothing but get harmed, while Sasuke had defeated both. Sure, she had stopped Sasuke from possible harm, but she wanted to defeat an enemy with her hands too!

But before she could think any more pessimistic thoughts, Kakashi continued, "because if we don't, the team would surely suffer. You have proven to be an irreplaceable teammate and friend," Naruto looked up at her sensei, with hope in her eyes, "you truly took my words to heart. 'Does who abandon their comrades are worse than trash'. I'm very proud of you for protecting your team." he looked over his team once more, "I'm truly proud of you all."

All her pessimistic thoughts were blown away, and she quickly jumped onto her feet, "YES, I'm awesome, you better thank me Sasuke-chan!" Sasuke clenched his teeth at the suffix, but decided against arguing with the blonde… for now.

"Yahoo, we totally kicked their asses!" She had clearly forgotten about her previous injury. Sakura smiled, relieved that everyone was alive and relatively uninjured. Tazuna did the same, but laughed a bit out loud at the blonde's antics. Neither of them couldn't even imagine the blonde being poisoned. Sakura hadn't been in direct combat, so she hadn't seen their gauntlets up close.

But Sasuke, who had fought the enemy, knew that their gauntletswere coated in some sort of poison. He turned towards Naruto, tried his hardest not to look concerned, and started walking over. But before he got to the blonde, Kakashi had stopped him. The Jōnin motioned for Sasuke to sit down and rest, and let him handle Naruto's injury. Sasuke snorted in dissatisfaction, but complied.

"It's good and all that you are happy, Naruto, but if you don't stop moving around so much the poison in your blood will spread. You don't want to die, do you?"

There was a second of silence. Everyone had heard what Kakashi had said. The silence was soon followed by a loud, unusually girly, shriek.

"Gyaaaaaaa! Help me, help me, help me!" the blonde started running around in circles. She clearly did not understand the meaning of 'stop moving around'. Kakashi just exhaled loudly.

"Naruto, relax and follow me." Naruto stopped running around and nodded as she started to trail after Kakashi. Her face had turned pale at this point, not so much due to the poisoning, but due to her fear of poisoning.

They ended up sitting sitting a bit away from the rest of the group. Sakura and Sasuke both made an attempt to follow, but Kakashi and told them to they needed some space.

Naruto, who was now sitting still, waited for whatever Kakashi was going to do. She kept on rolling her thumbs in a nervous manner. As always, she was wearing her orange jumpsuit, and it didn't really occur to her how her sensei was supposed to treat her injury.

"Well, Naruto, I need you to open your jumpsuit and pull it down a bit if I'm going to treat your wound properly." Naruto felt her face growing warm, knowing what this meant, but she did not argue with her sensei. She zipped open her jumpsuit, and pulled it down, exposing her bare shoulders and upper back. She slid it down just a bit further on her left side, where her wound was.

'Chest bindings, huh? I guess it's just a matter of time before she can't hide it anymore.' the silver-haired Jōnin noted, in an unusual non-perverse way.

Kakashi was by no means an expert when it came to Iryō Ninjutsu. Heck, he wouldn't consider himself good at it. At best he was a novice, and it would stay that way. He didn't have the chakra control needed. But what he did have was field experience. He had had comrades being poisoned and injured during the Third Shinobi War, and even during missions, which had led him to pick up a thing or two when it came to emergency treatment.

But the young man was still not confident in his ability to use a chakra scalpel. Sure, he could create one, but it was unstable, and could possibly do more harm than good. So instead of a chakra scalpel, he decided to use a kunai. He borrowed some alcohol from Tazuna to sterilize one of his kunai the best he could. He torn some cloth from his under-shirt, and used it to tie the blonde's arm to stop the blood flow. He tied her arm in two places, just above and below her wound to isolate the wound, and hopefully stop the poison from spreading.

"Now Naruto, this is going to hurt a bit. Grit your teeth best you can, and please try to relax." With those words he began to open her wound with the kunai. He repeated the process a couple of times, until a steady amount of blood had left the girl's body.

Sakura and Sasuke, who were sitting in a log away from Naruto and Kakashi, were both trying to get a glimpse of how Naruto was doing. They had been told to give some space, but they couldn't help being concerned. Even Sasuke, who rarely let his emotions show, had a hint of anxiety in his eyes. He dismissed it as not wanting to owe Naruto one. His pride as an Uchiha wouldn't let him owe anyone any favors after all.

Sakura, unlike Sasuke, was wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was obviously worried, and was unintentionally moving closer to Sasuke, seeking some form of comfort. Sasuke would dismiss it as her usual fangirl-like behavior, but he could clearly see the concern in her eyes, so he let her be for now.

As the young Uchiha kept on looking at Kakashi and Naruto, he could've sworn he saw some sort of bandages wrapped around her upper torso. 'Was he hurt before we left Konoha?' he thought to himself. He made a mental note of asking him later. Not out of worry, it was more out of… jealousy. Had Naruto really been able to fend off, and then catch up to the enemy shinobi while being injured?

"You better not be looking at my chest, pervert." Kakashi chuckled, as he finished draining the poisoned blood out of the wound. 'At least she's well enough to crack jokes still'.

Naruto did not like showing her skin like this in public, which is why she wore the jumpsuit. It had somehow become a habit to wear clothes that fully covered her body. It made her feel more secure, so exposing her skin like this, even if it was to her sensei and just a tiny bit, made her feel uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, Naruto-chan," Kakashi whispered softly, making sure the others wouldn't hear, "you don't have enough chest to make me interested." Naruto started pouting, and felt conflicted. On one hand, she was happy as a 'boy', but on the other she felt irritated at being called flat-chested. She had larger breast than Sakura, though no one knew that since she always wore her bindings. But still, being called flat-chested was a crime against all women!

Kakashi noticed her pouting, and ruffled the girl's hair in amusement. "Don't move around too much Naruto. I'm not proficient in Iryō Ninjutsu, so I was not able to drain your body of the poison completely. I was able to extract most of it, but some still remain. It will not be lethal, but you still need to take care. We should go back to Konoha and…" but before he could finish that sentence he was cut off by Naruto's loud voice.

"No! We are not abandoning the mission because of me!" the rest of the group were startled by Naruto's sudden outburst.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, please don't make us go back. I can handle this! I'm a shinobi…" Naruto was feeling a few tears welling up in her eyes. "It's always me… I want… I want to protect others instead of being protected all the time!" she looked up at Kakashi with hopeful eyes, as she wiped a few tears away.

The young man figured this would happen. He could see the fire in her eyes, and he didn't want to let her down. But she was his student, and he was worried about her well-being, even if he acted like a lazy goof from time to time.

"Naruto," he began softly, "it's not up to you or me alone. We are a team, you, me, Sakura and Sasuke. We will decide what to do as a team, alright? We also need to question Tazuna-san regarding the mission." Naruto just nodded in response. She knew she couldn't force the rest of her team to stay on a mission like this, neither would she if she was able to. But she truly hoped they would see things the way she did.

'I guess we have to rely on the power of the Kyūbi no Yōko to detoxify her and close her wound.' he thought as he wrapped the girl's wound in some bandages. He had opted to use cloth from his undershirt earlier to stop the blood flow. He figured it would be better to save the fresh bandages for later, just in case something went wrong.

He glanced over at the rest of the group. Sakura was still looking worried, and Sasuke… was Sasuke. He didn't let it show on his face, but Kakashi knew that he was a little bit concerned at least. Tazuna, their client, was acting rather anxiously, and he was mumbling something incoherently. Kakashi, who had just finished tending to Naruto, decided that this was as good a time as any. He walked over to the older man with a stern look on his face.

"Tazuna-san," the old man straightened up, and looked up at the Jōnin, "do you wish to tell us something? Why were the Demon Brothers, a pair of nuke-nin Chūnin, after your life?" Kakashi glared at the bridge-builder, and waited for a reply. When no reply came, he continued, "This is not a simple C-ranked mission. We can rightfully leave you here and return to Konoha without any repercussions." Kakashi was glaring at the man as he spoke.

The old man had enough shame to look away with a guilty look in his eyes. Naruto had carefully walked closer to the rest of the group, trying her best to relax to help ease her pain. All of Team 7 were now watching Tazuna, waiting for him to explain himself.

"First of all, I'm sorry. I've deceived you all, and I have no qualms with you leaving me here. I deserve nothing else." he looked up at the group, still wearing the same expression. "You see, Nami no Kuni is in terrible shape at the moment. The country is poor, and the population is even poorer. I could not afford anything higher than a C-ranked mission." The young Genin, excluding Sasuke, gave the old man a look of empathy.

"It all happened when this man, Gatō, decided to use Nami no Kuni as a base for his operations." Kakashi was surprised at that. He knew of Gatō. He was one of the world's wealthiest decided against interjecting, and continued to listen to Tazuna.

"He quickly bled our country dry by using his thugs and hired nuke-nin to block any trade with foreign nations. Whenever we want to buy something, it has to be through him, and he charged us with extremely high prices. In addition to that, he's using Nami no Kuni for his various…" the old man stopped briefly, before continuing, "side-businesses. In other words, he's shipping drugs and other illegal goods using the waters surrounding our country.

Naruto was very angry at this point. Kakashi had to stop her several times from interrupting the old man. She couldn't believe anyone could be this evil! Which was a bit ironic, seeing how she had grown up. The girl was pure at heart, always believing the best about people. But this Gatō… He really was evil.

"That's why I have to build this bridge. I need to show people that we can stand up to Gatō, and that we must, for the sake of our home and children! This bridge… It's our last hope!"

The old man closed his eyes, and bowed, "I know that this is shameful of me, but please lend me your strength!"

Kakashi noted that Tazuna was done explaining, and decided to share his two-cents with the group. "I've heard of Gatō, and I've heard rumors about him. And after hearing your story, I can safely assume that the rumors are true. He's truly a nasty, and rich, man. That's a dangerous combination," Kakashi started, scrutinizing the older man, "this is obviously at least a B-rank mission. It might even be an A-ranked mission, depending on what kind of other nuke-nin Gatō may have hired."

Tazuna continued bowing, but was visibly shaking at this point. Kakashi was about to continue, but Naruto beat him to the punch.

"Kakashi-sensei! We have to help him. This Gatō sounds awful, we need to stop him!" she exclaimed, much to Tazuna's surprise. This young shinobi had gotten injured due to his lies, but was still ready and eager to help him. A small, genuine smile formed on his face.

"Sasuke, Sakura. It's up to you two. Don't feel pressured," he glanced over at Sakura, "let me know what you truthfully think."

"Hn. Even if the dobe can't handle a few ninjas, I'm more than enough." he smirked at Naruto, who in turn flipped him off. Sasuke knew exactly how to tick the blonde off.

Sakura was fidgeting. She didn't think she was ready for a B-ranked mission. Heck, she had some doubts about a C-ranked mission! But at the same time she didn't want to let her teammates down. She inhaled, and decided to voice her concerns.

"Hey, I don't think we are quite ready for this. We need to get Naruto some help too…"

"Sakura-chan, don't worry about me. I'm fine!" she flashed the pinkette a foxy grin and a thumbs up. "You are stronger than what you give yourself credit for, Sakura-chan. You weren't top kunoichi in our year for nothing!" Sakura was a bit startled, and felt a slight blush forming.

"You were able to protect Tazuna-san while I and Sasuke engaged the enemy. We are a team, and I know we can finish this mission as a team. Without you, we wouldn't stand a chance." During her short speech, Naruto had walked up to Sakura and placed her hands on the pink-haired kunoichi's shoulders. Sakura felt… reassured. The blonde had given her courage, so she looked into those cerulean eyes and nodded in confidence.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think we should help Tazuna-san, and Nami no Kuni." Sakura met the Jōnin's gaze, and after a short staring contest, Kakashi confirmed her determination. He had even sent her a bit of killing intent, but she didn't falter.

"Alright kids. There is a high possibility that we'll encounter even stronger enemies, so be on your guard. You have decided to finish this mission, so make sure you protect the client and each other." the group nodded in response.

"Now onto the next matter." Kakashi started walking towards the tied-up pair of nuke-nin. "The Demon-Brothers from Kirigakure, huh." the young man silently muttered to himself as he inspected the unconscious duo. Naruto watched on in silence as her sensei pulled out a scroll. He bit his thumb, and drew a line with his blood on the scroll and performed a series of hand-seals.

Out of nowhere, a white cloud appeared in a poof. The smoke quickly dispersed, and in its place was a tiny dog, wearing a Konoha hitai-ate and a tiny cape.

Naruto was impressed, but at the same time she was disappointed. Sure, Kakashi had summoned a living being out of seemingly nowhere… but it was just a tiny pug-looking dog! 'Couldn't he have summoned something cooler, like a fox or something' Naruto thought, ignorant of the fact that she actually had one sealed inside of her. But before she could voice her opinion out loud she was interrupted.

"Hello, Kakashi," a deep, unfamiliar voice echoed. Naruto could have sworn she saw the dog's lips move, and that said voice had actually emanated from the dog. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief, not really knowing how to react.

"Do you require my assistance?" the same voice asked. Naruto just gaped and pointed at the dog as she slurred confusedly, while jerking her head back and forth between her two teammates. Her eyes were wide open at this point, giving her facial features a comical look.

Sasuke just shrugged, and Sakura face-palmed. Both she and Sasuke had studied a lot, at least compared to Naruto, during their Academy days. They had naturally read about the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, and about animals working together with shinobi in general. They had even had an Inuzuka in their class, for crying out loud, and the Inuzuka clan were famous for working with ninken, some of which could talk!

"Cat's got your tongue, dobe?" as usual, the Uchiha tried to rile up Naruto. And as usual, it worked. Naruto snapped out of her confusion and glared at the Uchiha.

"Shut up, teme! How was I supposed to know dogs' can talk?!" she didn't know it, but she just kept digging her grave deeper.

"By studying, that's how. Dobe." Naruto was about to jump Sasuke, but Kakashi's voice stopped her just before she leapt of the ground.

"Naruto. You are still injured. Stay put. And Sasuke, stop agitating Naruto." the silver-haired man just exhaled deeply. A snort was heard from Sasuke as he walked away from Naruto, and Naruto just turned around, holding her head high and crossing her arms as she walked the other way.

Kakashi had just finished explaining the situation to the ninken, who they learned was calledPakkun. The ninken had been instructed to deliver a message to the Hokage regarding the enemy shinobi. A tiny squad would be dispatched to pick up the nuke-nin for Jōnin had also included another part in his message. He had to tell the Hokage about the mission and how it had changed, and asked the Hokage to have a backup squad ready, in case it was needed.

Once they had taken care of all that, and after resting half an hour, the group was ready to set off towards Nami no Kuni once more.

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A few hours had passed, and nothing much had happened. They had spotted the occasional wild animal, but other than that it had been peaceful. Pakkun had been able to return to Kakashi and the group and had informed them that the Demon Brothers would be taken care of as soon as possible, before poofing back to wherever he came from.

Naruto let her thoughts wander, and started wondering exactly where summoned creatures came from. She shook her head, and decided that that was a lesson for later.

Tazuna had offered them a way into Nami no Kuni, and soon the group found themselves aboard a small boat, together with one of Tazuna's acquaintances. They needed a way to sneak past Gatō's border control, and this was the perfect way to do so. They were able to conceal themselves using a route with a lot of vegetation.

Sakura had been awfully quiet ever since their encounter with the Demon Brothers, not even fawning over Sasuke. Her mind had been full of thoughts concerning the previous mentioned duo, as well as Gatō and what kind of other nuke-nin he might have hired.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei," she began meekly, fidgeting a bit, "who exactly is this Gatō person? Is he really that dangerous?" she silently hoped no, but after their previous encounter, and Tazuna's explanation, she more or less knew the answer.

Kakashi looked up from his Icha Icha book and studied his student's face. He had to think a couple of seconds before answering as he did not want to upset the young kunoichi further. This mission was going to be difficult to complete, he knew that much. They hadn't signed up for a mission of this rank, but he believed in his team's ability.

"Well, Sakura," he closed his book and made sure he got the rest of his team's attention, "Gatō himself is not a man to fear. Either one of you could knock him out cold by yourself." Sakura looked a bit more reassured at that. Sasuke was looking smug, acting like it was obvious while Naruto had a prideful grin on her face.

"People fear the idea of Gatō, more than the man himself. Gatō has been able to oppress and bully a small amount of people, but he and his thugs have done it in public, which has led to misdirected fear of the man himself." They all nodded and listened to him intently. "He has his wealth, and his hired thugs, but in the end that's all. He doesn't have any power unless you give it to him. I believe in you, in us, and I know that we can bring Gatō and whoever he has hired down." he ended his little speech by highlighting the importance of them working together, and the fact that he believed in them.

Sakura was able to calm down after listening to her sensei. If worst came to worse, she knew he would protect them all.

A couple of minutes later they had docked, and had officially entered Nami no Kuni. The group said their goodbyes and thanks to Tazuna's acquaintance, and headed off towards Tazuna's home.

Naruto, still feeling a bit woozy after getting injured, decided to take point this time. She was happy that she was able to stand toe-to-toe with one of the Demon Brothers earlier, but was a bit disappointed that she wasn't the one to take him down. She wanted to prove to herself, and to Sasuke-teme, that she was a capable shinobi!

But as the trotted on, not much happened. They had a few more hours of light left, but as they were getting close to their destination, they decided to continue instead of setting up camp. Setting up camp could prove more fatal than moving in the dark, as they did not know what kind of hired muscle Gatō had at his disposal.

A rustling could be heard from one of the bushes near to the road they travelled, and Naruto being hell-bent on outshining a certain raven-haired boy, threw a kunai towards the bush immediately.

"One down." she said smugly, as she wiped her upper-lip in a self-satisfied fashion. The rest of the group walked up to the bush and potential enemy. When they saw what it was a couple of seconds of silence enveloped the forest. Just behind the bush was a now curled up snow rabbit, shaking in fear right next to the kunai.

Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and laughed nervously, just before being struck and yelled at by Sakura. Naruto quickly apologized, first to Sakura, and later to the poor rabbit. Said rabbit also got a couple of tight hugs by the blonde.

While the two girls' were busy, they failed to notice Kakashi's sour expression. Just like with the puddles, this snow rabbit was out of place; it had white fur. Snow rabbits change the color of their fur based on the amount of sunlight they get. They change to white fur during the winter to protect themselves from predator, but it wasn't winter. It was spring. 'This rabbit has been kept indoors, probably for the purpose of Kawarimi no Jutsu. We are dealing with a shinobi on a whole other level.' he thought grimly.

The masked-clad shinobi suddenly felt a surge of killing intent, and quickly shouted at his team and Tazuna to duck. Naruto, still holding the poor rabbit, was pushed to the ground by Sasuke. A giant sword suddenly flew through the air, just above the group, before embedding itself into a nearby tree. They had been saved thanks to Kakashi. Naruto had Sasuke to thank, but she repressed that thought for now. Or more, she couldn't think that far. He unknown killing intent made her shiver and unable to think properly and it didn't take long of the cause of the killing intent to show himself.

On top of the large sword's handle stood a large, mean-looking man. He was probably around Kakashi's age, but unlike Kakashi who had a lean and firm body, this man was more muscular, and was a bit taller than the silver-haired Jōnin.

Another thing to note was his face. He, like Kakashi, had his face hidden. While Kakashi used a mask to cover part of his face, this menacing-looking man had half of his face covered in bandages. Paired with short, spiky hair it gave him sort of a rugged look. A look of a seasoned fighter.

'This is bad.' the Jōnin thought to himself. 'I need to end this as soon as possible.'

He looked over to his group, and saw them shivering in fear. They hadn't been exposed to this level of killing intent before, so it was no surprise.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," he began in a calm, yet strong voice, "form a circle around Tazuna and protect him. That's your job. Teamwork here is to trust me. I won't let any of you die." With those words he freed his left eye, revealing his Sharingan to the world.

'How the hell does he have the Sharingan?!' Sasuke was frustrated, not knowing what was going on, but followed Kakashi's order. He had to survive this in order to question Kakashi about the Sharingan.

Sakura and Naruto followed suit, still taken aback by the killing intent, but not as much as before. Kakashi's words had reached them, and calmed their nerves if only a little bit.

"The man who has copied over a thousand different Jutsu, Copy Ninja Kakashi. Also known as Sharingan no Kakashi. To think I would be able to fight you, out of all people." The enemy shinobi had an evil smirk on his face, and he spoke loudly on purpose. He wanted to catch the kids and the old man off guard.

"Momochi Zabuza, nuke-nin from Kirigakure. Also known as Kirigakure no Kijin. Fancy meeting you here." He answered in a more cheerful tone, in an attempt to reduce the killing intent.

The both men glared at each other, neither of them moving a muscle. Moving carelessly would be fatal. Momochi Zabuza was a master of stealth and assassination, and was famous for his Silent Killing, a technique where he would kill his enemy in zero visibility, and without making a sound.

"Kakashi," he jumped off his sword casually, and pulled it out of the tree, "I need to kill that old man." Tazuna stiffed at hearing the shinobi state it so casually. "Are you going to get in my way?"

Kakashi didn't answer. He just continued to observe the muscular man. Zabuza's expression turned grim. 'It almost made him look like a demon.' Naruto thought.

"I guess I have to kill you first then," Kakashi just glared at the man, making sure that he was able to protect his team, "not that I mind much. This should be fun." With those words the nuke-nin jumped back, and landed on top the close-by water.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Everyone's field of vision disappeared as a thick mist enveloped the area. Kakashi, who had information on Zabuza, knew this technique. It was what he would use for his Silent Killing. He noticed that Naruto and the rest were getting more and more anxious.

"Lungs," came a sinister voice from the mist, "liver, spine, kidneys," the voice seemed to be all around them, confusing the three Genin.

"Or maybe the heart. Where would you like me to strike?" the voice was chuckling at this point.

Sasuke was fidgeting with his kunai at this point. The malevolent ki Zabuza's was letting out started to wear him down. His thoughts began to trail off, as he thought about Zabuza killing him. He would rather just do it himself if he was about to die anyway. Slowly he began pointing his kunai to his throat, but halfway there a hand suddenly grabbed it.

"Thanks, Sasuke-teme. I needed to snap out this trance-like state." Blood was dripping down the blonde's hand as she grinned towards the Uchiha. "You weren't about to do something stupid now, were you?"

"Hn." He was disappointed in himself for almost losing it, and even more so that Naruto had to save him again. But he was able to come to his senses, and lowered his kunai again into a defensive position.

"Don't worry… I won't let anyone on my team die." Kakashi's voice could be heard in the mist. Sasuke and Naruto felt battle-ready, but Sakura was still in a daze. She had witnessed Naruto grabbing the kunai, and snapped out of it, but she was still scared out of her mind. She was a book-smart kunoichi, which made her feel unfit for battle. She promised herself that if she would live through this, she would dedicate more time to training herself.

But as the group had somewhat calmed down, the mocking voice in the mist could be heard again. This time much closer to them.

"Are you sure, Kakashi?" Zabuza had appeared out of nowhere, and was standing in the middle of the group, ready to swing his sword. "It's over."

But they weren't hit by the large sword. They were instead struck by what seemed like a fist or a foot. Kakashi had managed to intercept Zabuza, and had managed to push his team and Tazuna out of harm's way before embedding a kunai in the nuke-nin's torso.

Naruto was sure that her sensei had won, but before she was able to celebrate, Zabuza's body disintegrated into water, and another Zabuza appeared behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei, behind you!" the blonde shouted at the bottom of her lungs, hoping that he would be able to dodge it.

He didn't dodge it. Not because he couldn't but because he didn't need to. Kakashi had formed a Mizu Bunshin at the same time Zabuza did. Kakashi's clone dissolved, turning into a puddle of water on the ground.

The real Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza, holding a kunai against his throat. His students' were relieved. Naruto and Sakura showered their sensei in praise, and Sasuke was looking more content than usual.

"It's over Zabuza. Give up, and I'll spare your life. You will be escorted to Konohagakure for interrogation."

A moment of silence ensued. Then a dark, sinister chuckle erupted from Zabuza. At first it was quiet, but the laughing grew louder quickly.

"Is it? Your cheap imitations can't trick me, Kakashi." Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, and began swinging the giant sword. Kakashi quickly ducked, and saw the Zabuza in front of him dissolving into water as it was cut in half.

Zabuza had anticipated the dodge, and kicked before even finishing his swing. The swing gave him some momentum, making the kick stronger. Kakashi blocked with his arms, but was still kicked away. Zabuza's body made a pirouette before coming to an end.

Kakashi was sent right into the water. He crawled up, to Naruto's surprise, and kneeled on top of the water. He panted, and coughed up some water. The water coming out of his mouth was mixed with blood, earning a shriek from a pink-haired kunoichi.

The water was heavy, and Kakashi struggled to get to his feet. Just as he found his balance, he felt a shiver. Zabuza had managed to get his back once more. His eyes widened, knowing that he would not be able to dodge what was coming.

"The water is my turf, Kakashi. It's over." He clearly mocked the silver-haired Jōnin by using the same words.

"Suiro no Jutsu!"

Kakashi was completely engulfed in water and unable to escape. He knew he wouldn't last long, and Zabuza was way out of their league.

"Get Tazuna-san and run! This guy is completely different from the other two you defeated! He can't move as long as I'm trapped here!" Kakashi's was frantic, and his face displayed the same feeling.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu."

Another Zabuza appeared in front of the original.

"Don't worry about his bunshin, it can't move that far from the water. Just lea…" he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

"Shut up, Kakashi-sensei! Even if we left he would catch up to us in no time!" Kakashi looked away shamefully. He wasn't able to think properly. The fact that his team was in danger had clouded his mind.

"Besides, we will never leave anyone behind. You are just as big a part of this team as any of us. 'Does who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' Kakashi-sensei, we will prove to you that we are shinobi of Konohagakure, dattebayo!" the blonde was determined to somehow free Kakashi. She didn't think that she could beat Zabuza, but if she could somehow disrupt that Jutsu of his.

Kakashi was taken aback. Naruto's voiced echoed in his heart. He was still scared, scared of anyone of them getting hurt. But he had never been more proud. Thanks to Naruto, he was able to calm down. He began analyzing the situation, and tried finding a way to dispel the water prison.

But alas, he did not know how. Someone had to force Zabuza's hand out of the water, and he wasn't able to do so from the inside. He cursed himself for getting into this situation, but he would trust his team.

"Sakura, Sasuke," Naruto flashed a foxy grin and eyes filled with determination, "let's go wild!"

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So yeah. I thought that was a good place to stop for now. Dunno what I'm supposed to say here. I know some authors like to communicate here, so I guess if you wanna know something I'll answer. But you have to ask first!

If you want to be a Beta Reader of this story, send me a message. The story will continue regardless, but would be nice to have someone read it over.